1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile ad-hoc routing apparatus and method.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Various methods of providing communications in an environment where communication infrastructure is not available, for example, in a military base, disaster area, or an emergency rescue situation, have been studied, and technology of a mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) has been introduced in the same context.
A MANET does not perform communication through established network infrastructure such as a conventional network and is a type of network capable of performing communication functions, such as data transmission and reception, through routing between nodes in the absence of communication infrastructure.
Thus, all communication nodes in a MANET environment perform data transmission and reception as terminal nodes and also perform router functions as intermediate nodes to forward data to a destination.
In order to transmit data in a MANET environment, an ad-hoc network is first established between moving nodes. Then, information on adjacent nodes is collected using a routing protocol, a multi-hop routing path to a destination is determined using the collected information, and data is transmitted.
However, in a routing protocol for a MANET according to a related art, a large amount of control information is generated to acquire information on adjacent nodes because locations of the nodes are continuously changed due to characteristics of the MANET. As a result, a large load is imposed on the network, and hence a problem arises in that it is difficult to smoothly transmit data between the communication nodes.
In addition, a MANET according to a related art is intended for communication in an environment free from obstacles, (e.g., mountains, fields, etc.) such as a military base, a disaster area, or an emergency rescue environment, and as such there are too many limitations in an application to a building environment with a complex structure.
Thus, it is necessary to develop a new type of mobile ad-hoc routing technology which can overcome problems in the related art, such as a problem of generating a large amount of control data in order to identify adjacent nodes in an environment where there is no communication infrastructure, for example, in the case of providing communication between firefighters extinguishing a fire in a complex building, and a problem of low data transmission rate in a harsh environment, such as a complex building, a fire scene, and the like.
Korean Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2006-0068440 (titled “Method for determining routing path in mobile ad hoc network and network apparatus thereof”) discloses a method including sorting one or more routing paths through which a data packet can be transmitted to a destination node, selecting, from among the sorted routing paths, a routing path having a smallest sum of weights which are calculated based on a packet transmission rate of each node constituting the routing path, and transmitting the data packet through the selected routing path.